Lg Electronics Inc.

Chul Woong Lee

Sang Chul Youn

Joo Hwan Lee

In Hwan Ra

Min Kyu Hwang

Beom Seok Ko

Jae Cheon Lee

An apparatus and method for determining a washing pattern of a direct drive inverter-type washing machine. The apparatus comprises a voltage converter for inputting an external alternating current (AC) voltage and rectifying and smoothing the inputted AC voltage to convert it into a drive voltage necessary to a washing mode of a washing machine, a switch for performing a switching operation in response to a motor drive control signal to transfer the drive voltage from the voltage converter to a motor so as to rotate or stop a washing tub, a voltage variation sensing device for measuring a voltage variation when the motor rotates in response to the drive voltage transferred from the switch and outputting the measured result as a voltage variation sense signal, and a microcomputer for driving the motor in a laundry amount sensing pattern at the time that laundry is put into the washing tub, judging the amount of the laundry and the amount of water supply depending on the laundry amount, judging the type of a material of the laundry in response to the voltage variation sense signal at the time that wash water is supplied to the tub, producing an optimum washing pattern appropriate to the amount and material type of the laundry within the washing tub and generating the motor drive control signal to drive the motor in the produced optimum washing pattern.

Washing pattern determination method

A method for braking a washing machine in accordance with the present invention comprising the steps of: setting up an initial data of a duty ratio corresponding to a detected speed and a rotating position; discharging a voltage of the capacitor filter during a duty-on cycle according to the duty ratio set up in the preceding step; and charging a voltage to the capacitor filter during duty-off cycle when the duty-on cycle of the preceding step is finished. As described above, the dynamic braking resistor is not used in the method for braking the washing machine according to the present invention so that the size and the production cost are reduced.

Apparatus and method for braking a washing machine

This invention relates to a method for braking a washing machine comprising the steps of: determining whether or not a motor is braking; transmitting a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control signal by setting up the initial phase and the duty ratio according to the voltage flows in the system when an operation mode determined by the previous step as a braking mode; comparing a capacity and a variance of the detected voltage with a reference voltage predetermined during the previous step; and controlling a motor driver by re-establishing the control phase and the duty ratio are re-established until the motor is stopped when the comparison result of the previous step indicates that the capacity and the variance of the voltage are lower than the predetermined reference level.

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Seoul, South Korea

Chul Woong Lee